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1. #NIKKO ALPHA III POWER STEREO AMPLIFIER NORMAL VS. DIRECT UPDATE#
2. #NIKKO ALPHA III POWER STEREO AMPLIFIER NORMAL VS. DIRECT PROFESSIONAL#

All GamuT amplifiers have a four-position input- sensitivity switch inside the case: -0dB, -6dB, -12dB, and -14dB. The D200i’s rated output is 200 watts per channel into eight ohms, 400 into four ohms, and 700 into two ohms. Internal hookup wire is now GamuT’s own “WormHoles Signature” brand (in critical junctions). The main circuit board has been adjusted to accommodate the increased power levels and some of the parts values and materials have been optimized for improved performance. The power supply’s maximum current draw has been increased through the use of two bridge rectifiers, one each for the positive-going and negative-going legs. On the inside, some of the improvements involve a new layout of the power supply, which now better isolates the A/C mains from the signal-carrying circuitry. I like the new look but prefer the more positive on/off feel of the older switch. It now has a pale gold, mirror finish (as opposed to anodized aluminum) and the on/off button at the top of the inset is now a more subtle round metal disc instead of the larger, more utilitarian-looking black rocker-switch of the earlier models.

#NIKKO ALPHA III POWER STEREO AMPLIFIER NORMAL VS. DIRECT UPDATE#

The main cosmetic update lies in the center inset of the faceplate. The new D200i stereo ($12,500) and M250i mono amplifiers ($23,000, please see the M250i sidebar) look almost the same as the earlier versions, and they retain much of the Kristensen- designed circuit and features of the previous, non- i models. Here were reasonably priced solid-state amplifiers with a neutral tonal balance, good image density and soundstage depth, relatively little telltale graininess, and a high “musical interest” factor. As I’d been a confirmed tube-amp guy for 20 years, the GamuT amps were a revelation. Solid-state amps which largely mitigated those qualities usually came with much higher prices. Up to that point, my experience with SS amps left me thinking that nearly all other similarly-priced SS amplifiers had relatively poor depth and somewhat dry and grainy qualities, and were often not very musically compelling. What struck me so vividly about both models was their lack of obvious solid-state character compared to almost all other SS amps priced near their respective levels at that time: $8500, stereo $11,500, mono pair. Shortly thereafter, I bought a pair of M200 MkIII mono amps, which I still own.

My own experience with GamuT power amplifiers goes back to 2006 when I had the pleasure of living with a D200 MkIII stereo amp-the predecessor to the subject of this review- for about a month. (Please see the accompanying sidebar about my GamuT factory visit.) GamuT is now owned by Kvist Industries A/S, a high-end- furniture and speaker-cabinet supplier located in Årre, Denmark. From then on, GamuT has been the brand on the company’s products, which also includes a CD player and preamp (added by the late 1990s), and three speaker lines (launched in 2003). In the early 90s, the amplifiers were more widely sold in the home specialty-audio market under the brand Sirius, whose name was subsequently sold to the American satellite radio company XM/Sirius in 2000.

#NIKKO ALPHA III POWER STEREO AMPLIFIER NORMAL VS. DIRECT PROFESSIONAL#

The first versions of the amplifiers were designed by Ole Lund Kristensen in the early 1980s and were sold mostly in the professional studio market in Denmark. I happen to be of the view that GamuT power amplifiers, in particular, deserve our attention-especially since they’ve been updated recently. After what seemed like some fits and starts with a North American presence a while back, this is good news for audio folk on this side of the pond. subsidiary for North American distribution, headquartered in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. GamuT Audio, a Danish company, has recently established a U.S.